Stan James Merges Betdirect Onto Platform - 02-08-09

February 8 - When Stan James online gambling group purchased Betdirect from 32 Red at the end of 2007, the company announced that its final goal was to incorporate the sports betting site onto its core platform.

At the time,
Stan James announced that Betdirect would operate as a separate, distinct brand for no longer than a year and a half, and last week, Stan James announced that it was going ahead with its strategic decision to bring the Betdirect into the fold.

"In December of 2007, we made a decision to operate Betdirect as a distinct brand for no more than 15 months in order to maximize customer retention following the acquisition from 32Red," said the Chief Executive Officer for Stan James, Peter Fisher. "Both Stan James and Betdirect have gone from strength to strength and we believe that the time is right to merge the brands."

Betdirect was created by Littlewoods gambling group more than a decade ago in 1998 and has always operated on its own platform, with an industry leading call center and mobile application.

However, Fisher said that the time had come to merge Betdirect with the rest of Stan James' products. "One of our strategic objectives is to promote and develop our single core brand of Stan James products," he said. "The merger of the Betdirect business is a positive step for achieving that objective."

Fisher explained why the move was so important. "The merger enables us to streamline overheads and is a fantastic opportunity to extend our industry leading service to our Betdirect customers," he said. "Betdirect customers have been made aware of the plans and can continue to access a full range of sportsbook and egaming products via the internet, telephone and mobile channels."